The final match in this compelling series, which starts tomorrow in Johannesburg, will be a great test of character for Andrew Strauss's England team. One nil up when they could very easily be two-one down, the players are still furious with their South African opponents for their allegations of ball tampering in Cape Town.

Andrew Flintoff is to have knee surgery after the Ashes, which could rule him out of all cricket until next summer. And while his absence will be a blow to England's one-day team, it is his state of form and fitness when he returns that is a far greater source of concern.

As Sunday's events at Wimbledon proved, the failure to live up to impossible standards isn't necessarily a failure in itself, because without coming within a hundred leagues of its immediate predecessor the men's final was still one to savour.

Andrew Strauss leads England into a wide open Ashes series confident that he has a team of characters strong enough to stand up to Australia and handle the pressure of playing for one of the most famous prizes in world sport.